Partou Old Town Day Nursery & Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Staff provide a welcoming environment for children.

There are a range of natural, open-ended resources available. Children show interest and excitement, when making choices from the activities on offer. They particularly like to explore different materials, such as snow, water and sand.

Children show growing self-confidence as they invite new visitors into their play, such as when they offer them pretend ice creams from the role-play area. However, staff's interactions differ in quality, which does not support all children to reach their full potential. Children have opportunities to decide where and how they play.
...r/>This helps them to stay motivated. However, leaders are yet to articulate a varied and sequenced curriculum to staff that builds on children's development over time. They do not ensure that staff, particularly in the younger children's room, fully understand the learning intent behind the activities.

In addition, there are times when staff do not engage effectively in children's initiated play to enhance or extend the learning. This has an impact on children's progress. Children generally behave well.

Staff warmly offer praise when children show qualities such as compassion and care towards their friends. Children are keen learners and beam with pride when staff celebrate their successes. Training around positive behaviour management strategies from leaders has recently taken place.

Despite this being recognised by leaders as an action for improvement, not all staff demonstrate a shared understanding of ways to address some children's unwanted behaviour when it occurs. This leads to children feeling confused about what is acceptable.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders' creation of the existing curriculum is incomplete and it is not yet broad and well balanced.

However, some of the skills identified for children, such as developing independence, are implemented with success. For instance, with support, toddlers use spoons and forks to feed themselves at mealtimes. Older children self-serve their lunch, begin to use knives and forks, and tidy away their plates and cutlery once finished with growing competence.

This helps to prepare children for their eventual move to school. However, a comprehensive curriculum that supports staff in their planning to challenge children and build on what they know and can do is not embedded. This means children's progress across the provision is variable.

Despite weaknesses in the curriculum, children develop a love for reading and literacy. Books are readily available and children choose their favourites for staff to share with them. Babies make noises as they point at pictures in a book.

Older children impressively recall events in a story, when staff show illustrations to jog their memories. At other times, staff share information books about children's interests, such as dinosaurs. Children listen attentively to new facts, ask relevant questions and apply what they remember.

These activities help to widen children's vocabulary.Children display natural curiosity in abundance and show an eagerness to learn. For example, during a small-group activity to encourage language with toddlers, they want to know more about the items they find in a bag.

Children make connections with their previous learning and keenly share with others, such as when they see wellington boots and recognise by the colour and pattern who they belong to. They beam with pride when praised by staff.Several staffing challenges have impacted on the key-person system.

Although there are clear settling-in procedures in place, some children have different key persons caring for them daily. These staff have not built consistently close and strong relationships with children. This leads to some children's individual care needs not being met effectively.

For example, when younger ones in need of reassurance or cuddles search for familiar adults, they may find them busy and cannot be consoled by the other staff.Currently, senior leaders' oversight of the provision on offer is not aligned. Their priorities for improvement differ and are not effectively communicated to each other.

A new development plan to address some areas of concern is in its infancy. However, details have not been effectively relayed to other leaders within the company or with staff. Improvements that need to be addressed include staff supervision arrangements, which are not robust enough to ensure the highest quality of education and care.

Weaknesses in staff's practice are not swiftly identified. For example, leaders do not recognise individual staff's lack of confidence and insight when dealing with children's unwanted behaviour. Staff are not suitably supported to continually improve their own teaching skills.

Consequently, children do not experience the benefits of consistently effective interactions across the provision.Parent partnership is effective. Staff keep parents well informed about their children's progress.

Parents are positive about children's experiences at the nursery and praise their progress, particularly in their communication and independence skills. Staff regularly share ways to support their children's development at home. This helps to build a shared approach.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date ensure a well-sequenced and purposeful curriculum is in place, that staff fully understand and use to promote all children's good development over time 07/02/2025 ensure that an effective key-person system is fully embedded and important information about each child's care needs is shared with adults who support them 07/02/2025 implement robust staff supervision arrangements to ensure that weaknesses in practice are identified swiftly and staff are supported to provide high-quality experiences and interactions for children.

07/02/2025

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